US, India Work to Mend Ties After Tariff Rift
Officials Highlight Continued Security and Trade Engagement
Key Takeaways:
- Two U.S. delegations are in New Delhi this week for political and trade talks aimed at stabilizing relations despite the lack of a near-term trade deal announcement.
- The visits follow months of tension after President Donald Trump imposed 50% tariffs on Indian goods and sanctioned major Russian oil producers, pressuring India’s energy sourcing.
- U.S. and Indian officials said negotiations on a broader trade agreement will continue through Dec. 11 as both sides seek progress on tariff issues before year-end.
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Two separate U.S. delegations are in New Delhi this week to hold talks with their India counterparts, seeking to repair bilateral ties even as a trade deal remains elusive.
Allison Hooker, under secretary of state for political affairs, willmeetsenior Indian officials including Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri during her visit from Dec. 7-11, the U.S. embassy announced on the weekend. She’ll be followed by a delegation led by Rick Switzer, deputy U.S. trade representative.
Officials in New Delhi familiar with the matter said they don’t expect the scheduled talks to result in any immediate announcement of a trade deal. However, the meetings signal that both sides are keeping communication channels open and are willing to keep the broader relationship on track, the people said, asking not to be identified because the discussions are private.
President Donald Trump slapped 50% tariffs on Indian goods in August to penalize it for its trade barriers and purchases of Russian oil. Since then he’s sanctioned two of Russian biggest oil producers, forcing refiners in India to seek alternate sources. Trump has since toned down his rhetoric against India and said in November he’llreduce tariffs“at some point.”
The U.S. visits come days after Russian President Vladimir Putin’s high-profiletripto India last week to deepen economic ties and showcase his longstanding ties with New Delhi, despite Trump’s pressure.
Switzer is expected to be in India from Dec. 9-11 along with the chief trade negotiator, Brendan Lynch, people familiar with the matter said, to advance negotiations on a broad trade agreement. India’s commerce secretary said recently he wasoptimisticthe two sides could clinch an agreement on the first tranche of the deal, which covers the tariff rates, before the end of the year.
India’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry and Ministry of External Affairs didn’t immediately respond to requests for further information.
Military Exercises
Officials in New Delhi pointed out that both sides continue to engage at an institutional level, including holding annualexercises in Alaska in September andsecurity matters at the U.S.-India 2+2 Intersessional Dialogue in August. Last week, the two nations conducted a joint working group meeting on counter-terrorism.
Analysts tracking India-U.S. relations say the nations are making efforts to bring bilateral ties on an even keel after months of tensions.
“Both sides are trying to move beyond where the relationship was, and after tariffs were imposed, there have been sustained high-level negotiations between the two,” said C. Raja Mohan, a visiting professor at the Institute of South Asian Studies at the National University of Singapore.
Mohan said the engagement shows that the two nations are working on overcoming the “current bumps in the road.”
India-U.S. relations have also soured because of Trump’s assertions he brokered a ceasefire between India and Pakistan during the four-day conflict in May and used trade as a bargaining chip. New Delhi has repeatedly rejected the claims.
While the latest talks are a positive sign, there’s still no clarity on the trade deal.
Ajay Srivastava, founder of New Delhi-based think tank Global Trade Research Initiative, said the U.S. should show “goodwill” by removing the 25% penalty tariff imposed on India because of its oil purchases from Russia. “The trade deal is the next step,” he said.
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